US President Barack Obama leaves after speaking on federal government shutdown at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2013. Obama slammed Republicans for shutting down the government as part of an 'ideological crusade' designed to kill his signature health care law. The US government shut down on October 1, 2013 for the first time in 17 years after a gridlocked Congress failed to reach a federal budget deal amid bitter brinkmanship. Some 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed in a move reminiscent of two previous shutdowns -- for six days in November 1995 and 21 days from December that year into early 1996. Credit: AFP/Getty Images